Paradise Flavas: a new food truck offering customers the tastiest and best-valued fried chicken on the island |13 January 2020
The business owners (Photo: Thomas Meriton)
Many of you may have already driven past the latest addition to the fleet of food trucks located at the ex-playground in town, Paradise Flavas – a 12-metre long truck from which the tastiest and best-valued fried chicken on the island is served.
Open since December 2, 2019, the business which is run by father and son duo Michael and Jonathan Azolan, is building up quite the reputation as one of the best fast food joints, offering customers breakfast from as early as 6.30am from Monday to Saturdays as well as their other favourites including fries, burgers and has browns.
“I’ve been working in catering in the United Kingdom (UK) for the past 18 years but finally decided to return to Seychelles. Upon arriving here and eating around, we decided there is a need to give people better value for their money. I tried to find a restaurant but it is quite hard here in Seychelles which is why we decided to opt for the food truck,” Michael Azolan explained.
Paradise Flavas is the biggest food truck at the playground, located next to the Seychelles Trading Company (STC) wholesale depot. Boasting air conditioning, stainless steel fixings and equipped with fridges, chillers and storage space, the truck was custom-built by the manufacturers to suit all their needs. The truck is also conveniently partitioned in two, separating the cooking space from the preparation area to ensure the highest standards of food hygiene.
“All of our products are from the UK – breading, spices, beef burgers, lamb, veggie, burger buns hash browns and the emphasis is on taste. Our dry goods are from the UK but chicken meat is procured locally. Initially, we wanted to serve locally produced chicken but the production is not sufficient to meet our demand,” he added.
Since its opening, Paradise Flavas has been a hit with the customers, selling about 100 cartons of chicken just within the first month and around 80 breakfasts on a daily basis.
“The feedback has been very positive so far and we have even been told it is the best fried chicken in town and it is down to our preparation and a secret spice mix. The ultimate vision is to have a few trucks or eventually have a franchise at different locations around the island,” an enthusiastic Jonathan Azolan said.
Currently, the menu is fairly limited to breakfast comprising toast, bacon, sausages and a fried egg for R35 (served between 6.30am and 9am), spicy wings, fried chicken and chips, although different types of burgers are to be introduced by the end of the month once the consignment arrives from the UK.
The truck is family-friendly with seating space outside and currently operates six days a week, from 6.30am to around 4pm, although operating hours will extend in future along with the menu.
Laura Pillay
